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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27960824">Gabriel's inferno</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GranadaCtonica/pseuds/GranadaCtonica'>GranadaCtonica</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ambiguous Emilie Juice, F/M, GabeNath Reverse Bang, GabeNath Reverse Bang 2020, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Non-total character death, References to Ancient Greek Religion &amp; Lore</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 14:22:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27960824</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GranadaCtonica/pseuds/GranadaCtonica</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary: Nothing seemed to predict how it all would end, and yet it had to have been obvious. It had been weeks since Mayura's last appearance and he didn't even let her go out to fight in person, but a broken miraculous doesn't get carried away by precautions once it's activated. With Nathalie balancing between life and death, Gabriel will have the opportunity to fix things or lose himself forever in a hellish battle that will overcome all nightmares.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth/Nathalie Sancoeur</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>67</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>GabeNath Book Club and Art Club Server, GabeNath Reverse Bang 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. THE FALL  –Part 1: THE PEACOCK</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This Team 23 fic for the "Gabenath reverse bang" ans is based on yoyomakes art that you can see there:<br/>https://tear22.tumblr.com/post/636962920583069696/gabriels-inferno-author-granadactonica<br/>Disponible en español aquí: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27961061<br/>Speacial thanks to @DragonGirl180 for be my beta</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nathalie suffers an critical episode</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When they went to London to spend part of their vacations at Amelie's house, little Adrien and Felix had the habit of playing Mary Poppins in an old video player—a model sophisticated enough to be catalogued as vintage, for the approval of the demanding tastes that surrounded both families—that they still had. Neither Gabriel nor Emilie were strangers to the classic by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, whose outfits had fed the imagination of the child who would become a designer, and he could be heard humming the lyrics after listening to them sung by the children throughout the day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>These were happy times, when Gabriel still felt comfortable showing affection to those closest to him without caring who saw, but like Mary Poppins at the end of the film, the wind changes direction and life takes another unexpected turn. If there was a strong storm the day Emilie closed her eyes to not open them again, as if the forces of nature were aware of the tragedy and acted accordingly, there was no reason for it to be any different today, even if this time he—they—couldn’t feel the slightest cold blow in the shelter provided by the lair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>From the large window, he could see the battle under the gray atmosphere and the trees being shaken hard, nearly to be torn from their roots. He could almost feel the cold scratching her face and see Emilie's hair stirring in the wind, listening to her sobs and moans mixed with the whistle of the air as she stood by the wide open window. As soon as he reached her, her body collapsed into his arms with a request on her lips, a promise he couldn’t break without feeling that he would destroy himself.</span>
</p><p><span>After Mayura's transformation fell, Nathalie could only whisper</span> <span>an "I'm sorry..."</span></p><p>
  <span>🦚</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gabriel never got rid of the heart monitors, oxygen cylinders or any other device and books about medicine that had obsessed him during Emilie's illness, giving him a false comfort to a condition that went beyond the parameters of conventional medicine. He was tempted to take them out of their dusty boxes after Mayura's first appearance, but he contained the growing paranoia with every cough and grimace coming from a Nathalie who was trying to hide them at all costs, as if giving in would open the door for the disease to settle in the body and soul of the only one he could call a true friend, one of the last people he would want to hurt after so many years of support and camaraderie. </span>
  <em>
    <span>His most loyal supporter</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he called her once, manifesting aloud what had been hovering in his being for who knows how long, was it because of her dedication to his family for more than a decade? Or was it because of helping him in this crazy mission that was draining everyone's health? The stoic woman, so cold in her professionalism and an unappreciated heart of gold, was now struggling to breathe and find a comfortable position to ease the pain in each of her bones.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nathalie had managed to fall asleep after a long time, although Gabriel doubted she was being gentle. She didn't just keep fidgeting and complaining; her breathing, usually so calm and clean that she almost seemed to not be breathing at all—except for some subtle moan or snoring of less intensity, which he had found soothing and adorable when he was veiling her sleep after a strong attack—was now a scratchy inspirational fight and an exhalation laden with regret, to the misfortune of her throat... if she came to wake up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both Nooroo and him shared in a restless chill, even Duusu—finally asleep after a shrill cry—seemed to shake in their sleep, curled up  beside their Miss Nathalie. Gabriel held Nathalie's hand, sitting beside her with his kwami floating close, and stroked the soft skin of her knuckles with the utmost delicacy, as if he were stroking the most exquisite and finest of porcelains. He knew he had to avoid any possibility of waking her up and going to his own room to rest (God knew he was exhausted and needed to recharge for whatever would happen tomorrow), or to rest in an armchair next to the bed, since he looked unable to leave her side and check any detail of her health (her pulse or body temperature, the slightest sign of change was a great relief or total panic) but his body seemed unable to react. In the dim light of the room, with only the light of some street lights outside allowing to see the delicate and perfect features of Natahlie, he watched her sleep until his own exhaustion made him faint next to her, embracing the mutual warmth of comfort that they longed for.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before sinking into unconsciousness, he thought about how revitalizing could be a few days in the cottage, the cozy little house where Gabriel grew up and rarely visited after entering in the fashion school, but to which he ensured weekly maintenance and cleaning since his inheritance. Just the two of them, Nathalie and him, while Adrien was left under the care of his bodyguard at the mansion. He might even allow his son to bring some friends if it prevented him from digging into the details of the trip, although it would make it just as suspicious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just a few days to clear your mind and let your body rest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few days to breathe.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. THE CAVERN</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Gabriel awakens in a dark forest and the kwami guide him to a cave</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>He didn't know what took his breath away the most: Seeing Nathalie with her hair down or wearing such a… domestic dress, for lack of a more exact word. A simple sleeveless garment with a wide skirt in an exact shade of red that stood out in her hair, decorated with colorful rhinestones in the form of flowers that were too crude for a haute couture design. Without a doubt, it wasn’t a work that he was going to present on a catwalk and he didn’t remember any similar confection among his past works, but it was tremendously familiar to him until the memory lit up: It was one of his first “serious” designs as a child, when he decided to go through the paper and start trying with the sewing box and scraps taken from old clothes.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>How a doll dress had arrived at his assistant was one more question in the strange situation. The figure was as inviting as a lighthouse in the thick fog, but there was something that just didn't feel right at all. The relief and surprise of seeing Nathalie vanished when he saw her expression worried, anguished… scared.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Her glow tinkled as the mist enveloped her and pushed her into an </em>
  <em>
    <span class="u">endless background</span>
  </em>
  <em>. Gabriel tried to run after her as he called out to her, as if screaming her name would scare away whatever force that was taking her away, but his own anguish grew when he was unable to move and speak. He reached out in a vain attempt to reach for her, to grasp the cotton vellum or the soft hand she held out to him, but Nathalie grew more and more blurred and distant. A strong wind with her voice began to blow a torrent of regrets and forgiveness, until a force pushed him nowhere.</em>
</p>
<p>🦚</p>
<p>The first thing Gabriel noticed was the cold. He felt his body in search of the sheet to cover them both, but his hand found his own clothes and a soft and uneven sensation that he could not locate because of how implausible it was. He blinked wearily and squeezed his eyes shut, blinded by a ghastly white light from the sky.</p>
<p>They had arrived at the cottage on Friday afternoon, after Adrien came home from his classes for the week. The luggage was already packed and stored in Gabriel's personal car, along with a slew of groceries ordered at home that morning. Both adults were waiting for the young sitting in the dining room, reviewing a thousand times checked list of schedules, directions, and written rules that they would hand deliver to Adrien, as well as a digital copy in his mail, to satisfy the obsession for the organization that pleased the two adults and obsessed the woman.</p>
<p>If any of them noticed the young man's sly smile, they chose to ignore the active imagination that manifested those days, although only one of them was fully knowledgeable of the ideas and fantasies that Adrien kept to himself; a single <em>approach </em>that struck Gabriel in the more unsuspecting moments, whether it was trying to fall asleep, or planning a new design, making small differences that you hardly noticed: A frustrating search for the perfect shade and gradient of blue, finished in fluffy-looking synthetic hair, longer and practical cuts, models with a more collected hairstyle and looking to the left, at a square line <em>similar to a computer monitor.</em></p>
<p>"Master?” Nooroo called in alarm, levitating near their owner with a clear expression of fear and bewilderment. Close to it, Duusu looked on with an expression of innocent curiosity, contrasting with their brother's prudence.</p>
<p>"Nooroo…" Gabriel's voice was husky as he sat up and looked around without trusting his sense. Perched in an ashen grass, in a small esplanade surrounded by deeply dark poplars even in the thick fog, Gabriel began to notice a growing childish fear that turned into true panic when he fully awakened and was still in the same place.</p>
<p>There was no sign of the fields, the blooming gardens, or the house; there was also no trace of Nathalie and her emotions, which could tell him where and how she was.</p>
<p>“WHERE WE ARE!? WHAT HAPPENED!? WHERE IS NATHALIE? NOOROO!” He asked angrily and alarmed, standing with his breath so heavy he was beginning to hyperventilate. This has to be a nightmare…<em> it has to be…</em></p>
<p>"It isn’t, sir" The kwami replied cautiously, but their companion began to turn around them in a totally opposite tone.</p>
<p>"Look at this place! It's so strange, it's so…. Oh, oh no… ” The vivacious creature shrugged into itself and nearly fell gently to the ground, but Gabriel caught it in time.</p>
<p>"There is something ... it doesn't feel right, it's ..." The little blue creature couldn’t finish speaking, as it burst into a shrill cry that caused the annoyance of the man and fear in the other kwami, which could not calm them for a few eternal minutes. Meanwhile, Gabriel cautiously traversed the strange terrain. Duusu's crying ceased, they got up from his hand and began to float westward, head down and slow, as if they were being guided in the middle of his unconsciousness.</p>
<p>Any attempt at communication and detention was in vain, which further irritated Gabriel. His priorities were not deciphering the strange behavior of the little peacock, but finding a way to get to the house and making sure Nathalie and Adrien were heeding the preset directions: One resting and the other doing their Saturday chores.</p>
<p>Really, sometimes he felt like the universe had something against him and his family.</p>
<p>"Miss Nathalie…" Duusu sobbed, drawing Gabriel's attention. He came to their side in a couple of strides, looking nervously around, but didn't catch a glimpse of the woman's figure; nor did he detect the presence of her emotions through the miraculous, or the slightest agitation no matter how hard he concentrated. Either he had underestimated the dominance of Nathalie's emotions even in the most terrifying of settings, or she wasn't there.</p>
<p>Or she wasn’t conscious to be noticed.</p>
<p>A chill of terror ran through owner and kwami equally.</p>
<p>"Duusu…" Gabriel drew in a breath to fill himself with the required patience. “Duusu… Can you feel Nathalie? Is something wrong?” He tried to not sound as eager as he actually felt, but the creature kept whispering the name of their mistress without stopping. Knowing that Gabriel was about to lose his patience and that this could make matters worse, Nooroo intervened, always cautious.</p>
<p>"Master, I think they are being led to where Miss Nathalie is, perhaps we should follow you without interrupting."</p>
<p>Gabriel, still upset by the course of the events, accepted without whispering a word. He put his hands behind his back and adjusted to the slow progress, clenching his fist with patience on the brink of exhaustion. He didn't trust Duusu very much and feared they were drifting away from the house with every step, but he would take Nooroo's word this time. He hated to admit it, but he had no better ideas.</p>
<p>He had lost any notion of time when the fog left between seeing a large dark shape. The closer they were, the better the rocky shape and dark entrance were guessed at. Against his self-control, Gabriel swallowed hard and the butterfly kwami settled on his shoulder, sharing the same feeling of heartbreak.</p>
<p>Duusu stood just outside the entrance, rumbling with darkness, moisture, and an indecipherable echo that would chill anyone's blood.</p>
<p>"She's here," the kwami announced and fainted in Gabriel's hands.</p>
<p>Perhaps it was the growing paranoia, but he could swear he heard Nathalie calling to him from deep within the cavern.</p>
<p>🦋</p>
<p>Under normal circumstances, Gabriel's refusal to enter the cave would have been heard from miles away in the form of an indignant scream and aggressive and haughty verbal language, befitting his status and personality.</p>
<p>Under normal circumstances, Nathalie would be behind him instead of, presumably, inside the cave; and Gabriel owed her much more than exploring a dark and dangerous place to who knows how many meters underground.</p>
<p>Getting poetic, he had to give her his life.</p>
<p>He took a deep breath and felt the entrance carefully. He was tempted to transform into Hawk Moth to feel safer and make use of his akumas in case of danger—he even had the exaggerated idea of trying to use them on some living being and give them some power to light the way, but the experience with Robustus indicated to him that it wouldn’t be a good idea—however, he needs the help of Nooroo in person to get around and keep an eye on Duusu, so he should settle for the flashlight on his mobile.</p>
<p>What was certain is that neither the red pants nor his jacket would end up well; and he wouldn't mind at all.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. THE GUARDIAN</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Gabriel was looking forward to finding the guardian of the miraculous, but he will think about it three times next time.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There were three things Gabriel lost during the descent: Composure, dignity, and common sense. Fortunately, he didn’t have a mirror and hadn’t reached yet a critical situation that could be at stake, but he was beginning to feel delirious and he wondered, not without reason, if this was the descent to his doom.</p>
<p>Well, he wasn’t so badly misguided.</p>
<p>When he saw the light at the end of the tunnel, he didn’t miss a second to run towards it desperately, hardly paying attention to the stones that obstructed the final section. His long legs gave him an advantage in his stride at the cost of hitting the ceiling, despite Noooroo's efforts to keep his head down. Once in the stone arch that served as the entrance, he leaned against it and dropped to catch his breath, his breathing being the only thing that could be heard with the diffusion of the echo.</p>
<p>He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the cuff of his jacket. It was so torn and dirty from the cramped cave and protecting Duusu, that he wiped his hands on it, took it off to pass it over his face, and threw it away without further ado. As he ran a hand through his hair, he felt disgusted at the feel of the gel-soil mixture unfolding in every direction and sticking to the back of his neck. Gabriel hadn't felt in such a disgusting state in a long time and he didn't hold back from verbalizing it with unethical language and loud voice. The only thing that was left intact, surprisingly, was his glasses, and that said nothing good for the neatness and impeccable class that he wore.</p>
<p>So upset was he that he wasn't alerted by the disturbance in the environment or Nooroo's warnings until it was too late.</p>
<p>He had barely begun to search the place, from where he saw the strange light and where the hell they had gone, when he detected a noise in the distance that resembled a buzzing. He was about to transform, imagining a swarm of bugs as disgusting as they were dangerous, but what he saw left him with cold blood, totally paralyzed.</p>
<p>Towering several feet above his head, a monstrous three-headed canine creature snarled at him, drooling with rage in his precise expression. At that moment he saw his end; nothing of the most important moments of his life and all his regrets as it happened in fiction, just an atrocious fear that left the mind blank.</p>
<p>“Master!” Nooroo exclaimed. That terror in the voice of the kwami, a creature immune to practically any danger, brought him back to reality.</p>
<p>“Nooroo, dark wings rise”</p>
<p>Flaunting his augmented abilities, Hawk Moth snuck between the hound's legs instead of running in the opposite direction, using his large size to gain an advantage against his mobility rather than giving him an easy chase. The earth shook for only a few seconds, but it didn't stop running.</p>
<p>Cerberus watched sitting, being caressed by the goddess who stopped him from continuing.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. THE ACHERON'S BOATMAN</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Gabriel arrives at the place that everyone fears (and it is not the tax agency)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Unable to turn around Hawk Moth raised his cane to try to see the road to his back through the reflection from the purple material of his handle. The absence of the canid giant didn’t calm him until he traveled a few more meters, reaching the bank of a river.</p>
<p>Once out of danger, he dropped the transformation and presented Nooroo with a honey candy that had previously been stored in his vest. The kwami enjoyed the sweet, sitting on Gabriel's shoulders while the man gazed at the place, sitting against a rock in order to catch his breath. In front of him stretched a greenish-gray river that gave off an unpleasant odor and didn’t invite to approach it. Their proximity was making him itch all over his body and he wanted to get away, but both directions seemed equally risky.</p>
<p>Feeling desolate, he rubbed his eyes closed. The last few months had made him realize how much he had underestimated Nathalie's work and support since her first day at the brand, but especially in his personal life. Not many people put up with his eccentricities and demands, and even less with a criminal life, but his Nathalie had remained faithful, loyal, and predisposed to anything.</p>
<p>Too much.</p>
<p>Now he realized how he had ruined her and his son’s life when only he should have carried everything, and it might be too late to fix it. If he got out of this, he would make up for those mistakes.</p>
<p>"Pay your mite and you can cross to the other side of the river, mortal soul" announced a hoarse voice under the hood of a tunic. Gabriel didn’t know what offended him more: The disastrous wardrobe or that he took him for a dead man.</p>
<p>"I AM NOT DEAD! HOW DARE YOU… !?" He yelled at him without hiding his anger, coloring his pale cheeks.</p>
<p>"Sir, be wise, his emotions… they aren’t human," Nooroo pleaded even knowing it would be in vain, knowing his aggressive and impulsive fury. Gabriel didn’t order him to remain silent, but he folded his arms as much as Duusu allowed and looked at the figure with a frown.</p>
<p>However, the boatman didn't give time to more complaints. His grim face took on a dangerous seriousness according to his powerful voice.</p>
<p>"ONLY THE DEAD HAVE PERMISSION TO GO DOWN TO THE HADES! How dare you defy the laws of the Underworld? How did you outwit Cerberus?</p>
<p>Gabriel would have responded with a scathing demand, but he had gone completely blank when he heard the name of the place. There was no way that was true, but less likely Nathalie had come down here first.</p>
<p>He denied that Nathalie had really died, it just couldn't have happened and even less without him having been there to comfort her and cry how sorry he was. However, the most logical part of his mind gave no other explanation, he still had to make sure.</p>
<p>"Are you sure of it? My partner must have crossed before me in search of the exit and the entrance is too steep to climb back up” His words he explained puzzled.</p>
<p>"No living mortal crosses these waters, and rarely defeats the guardian. If your mate wasn't soul-guided here, she would be after facing Cerberus. LEAVE!</p>
<p>Charon took up the oar and began to move the boat, leaving Gabriel to his fate. Against all his better judgment, he asked what he was afraid to know.</p>
<p>"At least tell me if you have seen her, please. Her name is Nathalie. She is a young woman with a serious but beautiful face. Tall, with fair skin, bright blue eyes, and silky black hair with a bright red fringe in a bun, she wore... "</p>
<p>“Yes, I recognize her," the ferryman interrupted. “She crossed eons ago”. And he tried to get back to work.</p>
<p>“You have to take me with her, it's important.”</p>
<p>"Time has come for your beloved and you can only meet when your turn also comes, if the judges wish." His voice sounded like a speech a thousand times repeated, but there was some respect deep down. Of course, Gabriel could only hear the word be-<em>loved </em>repeat itself in his head.</p>
<p>"No, she didn't… we aren’t…" Had he seemed like a lover in the throes of romantic fever? Has no family member or friend ever tried to save a loved one? He wanted to correct the boatman and reproach him that his love was his wife Emilie, but shame weighed on him for not having thought of her at first.</p>
<p>In the forest he didn't think that he would never see her asleep in her glass coffin again, or fulfilling his promise to bring her back. Being aware that he was in the land of the dead, there was only one woman in his head, and it was not the one he shared a ring with.</p>
<p>At least now he knew he could save them both.</p>
<p>
  <em>Or he supposed.</em>
</p>
<p>Charon’s sigh echoed throughout the cave. He emanated a hunger for greed that he tried to hide, possibly from pretending all eternity, but Gabriel noticed it suspicious.</p>
<p>"Listen, you aren’t the first or the last to defy the laws for your loved one. I understand it, but I cannot disobey the rules. If you don't have an obol to pay me with, a gold coin will do. Or a coin of value, or ... an object”.</p>
<p>Gabriel didn’t carry cash by habit, least of all a Greek coin. Suppressing an exasperated sigh, he approached the ferryman and gave him, reluctantly, the handkerchief he always wore around his neck.</p>
<p>“What is this!?” Charon replied almost in disgust. "I give you a chance and can you offer me a piece of cloth?"</p>
<p>"It's not a piece of cloth!" Is premium silk and handmade by myself. I am a great fashion designer, this is a luxury item.</p>
<p>Charon tossed him the handkerchief without being the least bit impressed.</p>
<p>"This is the deal, the brooch or the Cerberus."</p>
<p>Gabriel felt the ground under his feet disappear and his surroundings began to spin. He covered the clasp with both hands protectively and stumbled back a few steps, dizzy from the hard blow he had just received.</p>
<p>"I'm not going to give you my miraculous!" I…” He had lost the strength in his voice and the certainties. There were only two scenarios where he would give up Nooroo: Losing in battle or winning and rewriting the past. Nothing and no one would change his mind. So ... why was he hesitating?</p>
<p>"Sir, you know you must" Nooroo encouraged. The little kwami kept a safe distance from his master, but looked at him and spoke with sweetness and an understanding only understandable between them.</p>
<p>"Nooroo…</p>
<p>"I know, sir." The little kwami gave him a smile and stepped into the cameo, turning it into a splendid jewel in the shape of a butterfly. With trembling fingers, Gabriel took the brooch for the last time, looked at it with pity, and placed it on the boatman's palm with his eyes closed tightly, unable to look.</p>
<p>“Go ahead”</p>
<p>And treasuring crestfallen Duusu with softness and protection, he sat at the end of the boat.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. THE ASPHODEL MEADOWS</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The great judges have the verdict of Nathalie and a goddess has mercy on Gabriel ... or not</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nathalie remained so stoic and serious as she would be like in her day by day, without her body language showing the slightest trace of the fear and sadness that were drowning inside her.</p><p>At least she hadn't suffered, she could give thanks for it.</p><p>She had begun to make peace with herself since the first dizziness without carrying the miraculous, when she fell to the ground transcribing Gabriel's letter to Mrs. Tsuguri. She didn't want to worry and waste time complaining about a sporadic case that would hinder her work, but the discomfort inside her increased as it became more common to transform into Mayura. As practical as she was, she began to organize her personal affairs <em>just in case</em>, to make work and paperwork easier for whoever would take care of her things when she was gone. She supposed that Gabriel would take control by mere proximity, but he would be too busy meeting Emilie again and she didn't want to take away even more time than they had already lost.</p><p>Because there was no way they both survived this, not after knowing there was a price to pay and Nathalie was more than willing to be that price if Gabriel could be happy again. That would be his last act of loyalty and love towards her Agreste, something worse than dying would be feeling that she died in vain.</p><p>Like now.</p><p>As much as she struggled, a tear slid down her cheek as she tried to see the river through the ectoplasm of the rest of the souls in the boat, trying not to focus on details that could betray ages or causes of death. It was not the best time to be empathetic, she was feeling quite bad for not having been able to finish helping Gabriel as she promised, and she couldn’t even apologize or say goodbye to Adrien. His poor boy, only God knew what the poor boy would be going through: First he loses his mother and now she. She didn't see fit to put herself on the same level as Emilie, but she knew the boy held her in high regard and she couldn't ignore it now.</p><p>If only she could have talked to him sooner, if only...</p><p>“End of the journey" Charon's husky voice announced. The souls of the boat descended without looking at him and Nathalie followed them in that funeral march that they seemed to have memorized. At least she'd been lucky enough to have a few coins with her; She carried them loosely in a pocket of her pants and kept them in the robe that she had put on over her pajamas, with the intention of returning them later in her purse.</p><p>Interested in reading and culture, Nathalie wasn’t taken by surprise by the procedure that would happen next, but she would be lying if she said that was what she expected. In recent months, she had thought a lot about what happened after death, searching for old beliefs and testimonies of people who had supposedly returned to life after a short period of medical death, but nothing satisfied her curiosity or clarified her ideas. The well-known underworld she had read about in the classics? Impressive.</p><p>Purposely lagging behind, she gazed at the white flowers blooming with pity on the infinite field. The asphodels seemed to shine with their own light, their touch seemed to want to provide a last comfort in connection with the earth. If she was correct, she would remain wandering here for the rest of eternity. It didn’t strike her as such a horrible fate.</p><p>In front of the group, huge open doors were rising carved in stone that instilled a terrible respect as short as their proximity was. The magnificent carvings depicted Greek letters, the message of which he could not understand, crowned by the imposing silhouettes of three seated men and an oversized man and woman standing. Nathalie lost her breath, if there was anything left, when she walked in and saw the three great judges: Minos, Eaco, and Radamantis.</p><p>🦚</p><p>“Nathalie Sancoeur, 1986-2020. Paris, France. On your feet” the first of them announced. There were only a couple of souls left to be judged. The time had passed quickly to have done nothing but try to listen and leave his mind blank, but always getting lost in the issues he had left behind.</p><p>Obediently, the woman got up and positioned herself in the center of the room with her head high and her step confident. The height and ancient toughness of the three judges managed to intimidate her, but her pride kept her from showing it.</p><p>“Nathalie Sancour, in life you made use of the ancestral magic of miraculous for evil, terrorizing your hometown and attacking civilians and a group of young age heroes under the identity of Mayura. Is that correct?”</p><p>The aforementioned gulped, trembling at what might happen next. Lying would only serve to carry a punishment commensurate with their insolence, and he knew they were both imaginative and cruel.</p><p>"It is true, Your Honor" she answered loud and clear. She opened her mouth to explain, but the second judge stepped forward, his voice covering any sound of hers.</p><p>“You caused the destruction of public infrastructure and aggression on third, second and first degree through emotional manipulation, physical attacks, attacks with weapons and with the creation of monsters under your control. Is that correct?”</p><p>Nathalie was only able to whisper an affirmation, understandable by the echo and the silence.</p><p>"What do you have to say in your defense?" The asked last.</p><p>Heartbreak and fury dueled, having to exert a great deal of self-control to keep her composure. It was one thing to hear the news the day of an attack, with the battle recent, or to hear comments from people who had no idea about what was happening, but in the voice of justice she saw it with the terrible clarity of reality. She couldn't lose her strength now. She did it a thousand times and would do it again a thousand times if necessary.</p><p>"I wanted to help my partner repair a terrible mistake from the past" The accusatory look gave her to understand that it would be better to be frank and direct rather than go with metaphors and sweeteners. She took a deep breath and, for the first time, it was her voice narrating the truth of the acts. “My boss's wife used the same miraculous that I did when it was broken and got sick from its negative effects. My partner wanted to get the miraculous of Ladybug and Cat Noir to change the past and avoid her illness, I…” Her voice trembled. “I was the one to blame for everything. I was the one who deciphered the clues, read the maps, and found the jewels. Without me… without me they would be fine and none of this would have happened. I love that family as my own. I love him.”</p><p>The silence seemed to last a lifetime. She felt so intimately exposed that the spacious room suffocated her. Minos, Eaco and Radamantis decided their verdict and spoke in unison without looking away.</p><p>“Nathalie Sancour, the Three Great Judges find you guilty of the…"</p><p>“IT'S NOT FAIR!” Nathlaie screamed in rage. “We just wanted to save her from…”</p><p>“SHUT UP, YOU INSOLENT" shouted Minos. "No matter how noble your intentions were, your acts don’t have legal justification.”</p><p>"Emilie didn't deserve to persh like that!" It was too early!</p><p>"THEN YOU WANTED OUTWIT THE SACRED LAWS OF LIFE AND DEATH. BLASPHEMIA, CRIME!” The judge yelled angrily as the three rose to their feet, offended by the insolence they had just discovered.</p><p>"No, I... she… isn't technically dead, I think, just ... asleep by magic …”</p><p>Slightly more relaxed, although their faces didn't show it, they took their seats again.</p><p>“Nathalie Sancour, Tartarus claims you to serve a life sentence.”</p><p>Nathalie ran out the way she had entered under the angry gaze of the judges, the surprise of those present and the impassivity of a familiar woman in a suit and green eyes.</p><p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. THE CLAMOR OF THE COCYTUS</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The river of laments is too loud for empaths</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Charon had a little mercy in recommending him not to go directly to the courtroom of the judges, who would have sent him directly to serve the most painful punishment in life that he could imagine. Gabriel doubted that he could feel even worse than he was, but he willingly accepted the advice and chose to take a detour to the exit of the courthouse, in a small square where the roads of Tartarus and Elysium diverged.</p>
<p>If he couldn't make it in time, or couldn't save her, at least he was certain that Nathalie would spend the other life on the Elysian Fields. After all her sacrifice and hard work, she deserved compensation at the height.</p>
<p>Too bad he wasn't the judge.</p>
<p>Duusu stirred in his hand, but they didn't wake up completely. At least they seemed fine and took a load off him, but he needed them now that he didn't have Nooroo with him.</p>
<p>Nooroo ... every time he felt worse because of the way he treated them. Remembering their disappointed face was terrible, but remembering them scared made his stomach churn. He had never been so cruel to anyone before the appearance of those damn jewels, however abrupt and impatient he could be with mediocre work. The sadness of seeing Emilie wither and fall asleep had become a punishment for everything and everyone, selfishness had taken hold of him in an insane, animalistic way...</p>
<p>The weight of it all made him fall with a heavy breath full of tears. How much pain had her poor Adrian suffered in the last year? No... for his entire life. His not-so-well-concealed disappointment with homeschooling, the social insufficiency of only having Chloe Bourgeois for a few game afternoons... even his decision to include him in the world of fashion at a young age and as soon as he lost his mother it seemed an almost disgusting act. What had he been thinking about? Why had he allowed Emilie to separate him from the rest of the world for so long?</p>
<p>"M-Mr. Gabriel?" Duusu's plaintive voice called, trying to open his heavy eyelids.</p>
<p>"Duusu!" The man sat on the ground and tenderly cradled the little creature. So lively and outgoing, they now reminded him of Nathalie in her worst moments. It seemed that he only knew how to consume the life of everything around him.</p>
<p>"This is not a good place to lament, boy, the Cocytus brings out your worst memories and slowly consumes you" A voice behind him surprised them, so sharp and anguished that Gabriel felt like crying. Turning to see her, the feeling worsened. The figure was dressed in a gray chiton and a cloak over her head and arms, but without actually covering her grayish face, swollen from crying. A few dull dark locks framed the reddish eyes and the bruised lips. Despite everything, she didn’t appear to be physically hurt. If he didn't know where he was, he might come to her aid, but the experience with Charon had him on his toes. Gabriel stood up carefully, as if threatened by a predator, and protected Duusu with a fatherly air.</p>
<p>“Who are you?” He asked as respectfully as he could, but the woman grimaced with regret.</p>
<p>“You don't know who I am… of course, nobody knows who I am, nobody pays attention to me. Being Nyx's daughter only favors mother's favorites, right?” The woman sobbed in such a way that it chilled him to the bone. “I am not as pretty as my sisters, nor as respected as my brothers... even more detestable than Eris...”</p>
<p>"I didn't want to offend you, ma'am." He felt extremely ridiculous talking like that, but nothing about this woman gave him a good feeling; and that without wearing the miraculous. How would it have been if he could read it completely? He couldn't imagine it. “I am… new to these lands. Could you tell me your name?”</p>
<p>The woman had started to wander, circling slowly, and dropped to the ground.</p>
<p>"I'm Oizys. OIZYS! I am the pain, I am sadness and you stink of me! Go away! Get out of Cocytus and get out of here! Why are you still here? You are not dead, you have nothing here. Why do you come to gloat over your life and your gifts with us, the unfortunates?”</p>
<p>"I'm looking for someone," he replied, uncomfortable with how much information to give and how to convey it. From what little he knew, the goddess could help him or sink him in the river he had just noticed. If the previous one had made him sick, seeing specters roaming its waters made his stomach turn. “Does everyone... everyone wander the river?”</p>
<p>"Only those who can't pay. Miserable creatures, as if they didn't have enough…”</p>
<p>He really hoped Nathalie had something to give, he would make it up to her. He didn't know how, but he would. He looked closely for her bun, the roundness of her face, her fine figure…</p>
<p>"Who are you looking for? It must be very dear to your sad look. How unfair, what a fatality…”</p>
<p>“It's Nathalie, she came here for helping me and I can't leave without her. Without even apologizing… No, I can't, I can't…”</p>
<p>And he began to cry.</p>
<p>Oizys’s gaze lit up as Gabriel's faded and closed his eyes tightly, letting out all the regret he had accumulated.</p>
<p>"Nathalie… Nathalie… I've heard that name before.”</p>
<p>"Where? Where is she!?</p>
<p>Gabriel looked at her pleading from the ground as he only did when he begged Emilie to stop using the miraculous to heal, he feared the result would be the same.</p>
<p>"And why should I help you? Why do I have to give you everything and receive nothing in return? I'm not anyone's servant to use!” She cried with such heartbreaking force that Gabriel felt more regret than ever.</p>
<p>"I don't have much to offer you, but…" He handed her the handkerchief and some candies, his sad only valuables right now. "I can give you this and guarantee that I will not forget your name and that the world will hear it again."</p>
<p>The goddess looked at him suspiciously, but the beauty of the objects blinded her uncertainty.</p>
<p>“I have heard a woman facing the judges”</p>
<p>He was smiling with pride, only Nathalie would dare to act with such courage, when the truth of the sentence chilled him. Why would she be dissatisfied with going to Elysium? Had they told her that he would have another destiny and she was afraid she would not see him? No, that would not make sense, she could not have so much affection for the one who has ruined her life…</p>
<p>“Miss Nathalie…?” Duusu worried in a weak voice.</p>
<p>“The three of them in unison condemned her to Tartarus, to bad…”</p>
<p>If Oizys flinched upon hearing it, Gabriel almost lost consciousness out of sheer horror.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. A SHOT OF THE LETHE</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The temptation to forget is hard to resist</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There are times when opposites turn out to be the pieces of a puzzle that need to come together, the two faces of a mirror that move in opposite directions to get to the same place.</p>
<p>Nathalie and Gabriel ran in desperation as shoes, heartbroken. She retraced her steps followed by the guardians and he ran down the roads followed by Oizys. The two mortals wept a lifetime of lamentations, blaming themselves for the same as the other blaming themselves; and two of the same race approached to ease their grief.</p>
<p>🦚</p>
<p>Tall, vigorous and of extraordinary beauty, with a comforting dark aura emanating from her hair and the delicate fabrics that enveloped her body making her ethereal, Nyx only needed a signal for the horde after Nathalie backed away with their head bowed.</p>
<p>Kneeling and stooped, embracing her trembling body, she was oblivious to the primordial goddess floating towards her with the sympathetic gesture of a hardened mother, until she bent over her tortured soul and, kneeling by her side, placed a hand on her shoulder, calling her Attention.</p>
<p>"Calm, my child."</p>
<p>Her voice managed to cause the desired effect with impossible speed. Nathalie sat on the flowering grass and stroked the petals of the asphodel for the last time.</p>
<p>"I just wanted… to help them… Will Gabriel also suffer this punishment?"</p>
<p>"Just if he doesn't rectify enough to equilibrate his balance. Justice here has very old and strict roots, but they know how to recognize real repentance when penance is done; of course, your confrontation won’t speak well in your favor for a long time.</p>
<p>“I don't know what I was thinking.” she lamented in shame.</p>
<p>The goddess gave her a soft smile.</p>
<p>“Of course you know, you thought of yourself and what you believed was right for you, and now you feel guilty about it. I recognize the weight of the responsibilities when I see them and you shouldn’t blame yourself for what is not within your reach.</p>
<p>"I'm afraid my intervention may have adversely affected Gabriel and Emilie, I will gladly serve more sentences to compensate them, none of them deserves more than what they are already going through”</p>
<p>“They won’t and it won’t be necessary, everyone is judged strictly individually. I am convinced that you would like to observe the trials, you would even do a good job here. Who knows, eternity holds many things, but first you must forgive yourself and think more about yourself, my child. Perhaps a shot form Lethe would help you...</p>
<p>"With a bath of fire I have enough... Do you help all the troubled souls?”</p>
<p>"Only the interesting ones who catch my attention and it seems that they are going to flee" She joked, smiling with a wink that would make Nathalie's blush; and smiled back.</p>
<p>“I'm ready”</p>
<p>🦋</p>
<p>Unusually relaxed and almost looking calm, Oizys followed Gabriel keeping a respectful distance, leaving the mortal man free from his moment of personal torture. Many were the unfortunates who had felt the personification of sadness in their flesh and each experience was so devastating that it dried her perpetual tears.</p>
<p>Kneeling and hunched over, supporting Duusu at the height of his heart and leaning his fist to the ground, Gabriel allowed himself to be carried away in his misery until he felt Oizys’ hand on his shoulder and squatted next to him.</p>
<p>There were no words to say.</p>
<p>Silent support had always been the most effective for him. The words might sound hollow, but the warmth of the closeness didn't lie when it was truly sincere.</p>
<p>"You really aren’t in the best place to allow yourself to be consumed by your negative emotions, Gabriel Agreste"</p>
<p>"Nothing matters anymore" He answered, exhausted. “Emilie is not here, Nathalie is gone, Adrien hates me and not without reason, I have lost Nooroo ... I have lost everything"</p>
<p>“Adrien does not hate you, Mister Gabriel," Replied the weak voice of the peacock kwami.</p>
<p>"You only say that to comfort me, I don't need you to lie to me. I can too… I could feel their emotions”</p>
<p>“Yes, but you never used it with your son or with Miss Nathalie for not intrude on their privacy, but I could feel them both and they didn’t hold you more resentment than some occasional disappointment” Even in its state, the creature tried to be as gentle as possible.</p>
<p>However, Gabriel wasn’t about to believe the kwami and the lament of the souls seemed to increase in his head.</p>
<p>"There is a way to get rid of all this, but it comes at a price" Oizys revealed. Her voice sounded soft and pious, it almost reminded him of Nathalie trying to comfort him after a particularly painful defeat.</p>
<p>Gabriel sat up slightly with a sad laugh on his lips and wiped away his tears.</p>
<p>"How not ... there is always a price ... What does it consist of?"</p>
<p>Oizys smiled.</p>
<p>“Come with me.”</p>
<p>🦚</p>
<p>One step, followed by another step, followed by another step… Nathalie had allowed herself a final dramatic touch by marching like a tragic martyr through the court, under the strict gaze of her three sentencing judges, and taking the path that led to the entrance of Tartarus. Slow and steady, savoring every flash of beauty that her eyes caught without timing being important. She could feel the gazes on her and she couldn't care less, all her attention was on the white flowers, the minerals and jewels dripping through the cavern and the comforting cloak of darkness that she felt close.</p>
<p>Dignity was something she wasn’t going to have taken away from her.</p>
<p>🦋</p>
<p>“This is Lethe, its waters have the property of making people forget. Our venerable <em>Praxidike</em>, makes use of them in reincarnation rites.</p>
<p>Gabriel looked at her strangely.</p>
<p>"Praxiwhat?" Wasn't her name Persephone…?</p>
<p>"DO NOT MENTION HER NAME! Fool mortal, Our Lady,<em> Aristi cthonia</em>, is called by her formal epithets, even more by mortals who do not want to attract death.”</p>
<p>"It's a bit late for it, isn't it?" Gabriel's empty smiles reflected how consumed he was inside.</p>
<p>"As I was explaining, a single drink will make you forget your grief and guilt, but it will also make you forget who you are. You are lucky to be able to forget, the pain is not permanent in you.</p>
<p>Before he knew it, Oizys had handed him a ceramic mug filled with water no better looking than the other rivers. Its dark color and stagnant smell would not only make it capable of forgetting, but of expelling all liquid and solid from the body.</p>
<p>Tempted, he brought it to his lips.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. A PROMISE TO THE STYX</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After spending too long hiding behind the mask, it’s his time to take the reins</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I can't, I can't do it.”</p><p>Gabriel dropped the glass as if it burned, spilling every last drop of its contents under the reproachful gaze of Oizys. The goddess took the cup and looked at it wistfully.</p><p>“Wasting an opportunity like this… You can have a chance and throw it away. If you knew what I would give to forget …”</p><p>Gabriel was beginning to lose patience with the goddess. As much as he could understand her, he hated those subtle insults for not meeting her expectations. Just the movement of Duusu in his hand silenced his mouth in time, but he couldn’t completely hide the annoyance.</p><p>"I have a son, Oizys, I can't forget about him when I get back. I don't want to forget when the rest of Paris won't be able to. It is unfair.”</p><p>The firmness in his voice made her understand that it was better don't keep insisting, reaching a point of uncertainty. And now what? They were both stuck and their voices of reason were in another part of the realm.</p><p>"Mr. Gabriel ... you don't know what to do, that's new." Duusu, amazed, floated a little under the watchful eye of the named.</p><p>"I suppose you can help me?" He asked with a glimmer of hope, but lost it when the kwami denied.</p><p>"I'm still very weak, sorry.”</p><p>"But what is happening with you? Nooroo wasn't that bad.”</p><p>“Nooroo doesn't have two carriers in this strange place, the emotions are very strong or extrasensory. Does that make sense?</p><p>They are the emotions of the gods and deads," Oizys answered reluctantly, turning her back on them, but Gabriel had gone pale.</p><p>"Duusu… when you say two carriers...?"</p><p>"I can feel Mrs. Emilie here, Mr. Gabriel."</p><p>🦋</p><p>It was too many emotions in such a short time. Fear, worry, shame ... and even a hint of joy. After all, even if it was in that grim way, he could talk to Emilie and explain everything; even get some help with her advice. However, she wasn't supposed to be here, she wasn't dead.</p><p>Not at all.</p><p>"She's somewhere in between, an eternal wait until her soul returns or stays." Oizys explained. It couldn't be clearer just knowing what I was learning by watching, but it was more than enough for Gabriel.</p><p>Enough to be more confusing.</p><p>A part of him longed to travel every corner of the underground world in search of his wife, to speak to her and receive an answer, to hear her voice and see her move as if she weren’t asleep. Another part of him needed to find Nathalie before it was too late.</p><p>Emilie had been waiting for a year. Could she wait another hour?</p><p>"When I thought you couldn't disappoint me more, you surprise me again."</p><p>And there she was. His wife, his Emilie, with her arms crossed and with the royal bearing that had him totally under the palm of her hand, with the furious gleam in the green of her eyes.</p><p>Gabriel was speechless at his majestic appearance, but Emilie didn’t show the slightest sign of looking for the lovely reunion as they both wished that fatal day.</p><p>“I have had to witness the greatest disrespect and humiliation towards myself to later find you lying here, crying and lamenting, instead of looking for me.”</p><p>Gabriel swallowed heavily, intimidated by her strong character.</p><p>"I… didn't know you were here, I swear!" Duusu and Oizys can confirm.</p><p>"Disappointing, anyway." The pity on her beautiful face broke his heart. Gabriel approached her on his knees, begging for forgiveness like the sinner who begs the benevolence of his strict saint, but she ignored him and stuck her finger in the sore that hurt the most.</p><p>"I'm sorry too, Gabriel, I'm sorry I put my faith in that you would help me, that your love for me would help you fulfill our promise, but I can see that you don't love me enough…” The words hurt Gabriel more than any blow; only the personification of sadness itself noticed the absence of tears in her very good interpretation, with the pose and the gesture, studiously hidden by a neat manicured hand.</p><p>“What? Not! How can you think that about me? I…” <em>I love you</em>, he wanted to say, but the words stuck in her throat as if it wasn't worth mentioning. He didn't feel worthy to touch her either, but he set Duusu on the ground and clung to Emilie's legs. “I'm doing everything I can, I swear, but it's being harder than we thought. Ladybug and Cat Noir are cleverer and more intelligent than children of their age and… "</p><p>“Children!? Have you spent a year fighting and losing AGAINST CHILDREN !?” If Gabriel was already ashamed of that habitual humiliation, now he felt even worse and there was no word to describe it.</p><p>"They have the advantage, they've had the guardian on their side all this time and we couldn't decode the grimoire until a few weeks ago. Besides, Nathalie, has been using your miraculous and it made her sick like you.</p><p>"Have you… given… my miraculous... to Nathalie?"</p><p>Gabriel was paralyzed.</p><p>"She took it to save me and her help has been very beneficial since then. We have managed to take advantage and we are closer than ever, but she has been very close to the limit… I couldn’t allow it to happen again and Adrien could be suspicious” <em>And be even more worried</em>, but he didn’t think that Emilie was willing to accept that..</p><p><em>"So that's why she's here.</em>" the woman thought, no longer appeased by it. Her left hand left her hip and dug her nails into Gabriel's hair in a gesture more thoughtful than comforting, but Gabriel felt infinitely better.</p><p>That jewel was hers, the power of Duusu was her mission and no one else's and they knew it. She felt betrayed by Nathalie, who had been her best confidante and help in her mission. She couldn't think of a better company on long nights of tea and research, or a better compromise between work, family, and extracurricular tasks. Without it, she would still be trying to decode the maps, spending money and resources on trips to nowhere. She felt hurt for those she loved the most.</p><p>Emilie sighed, exasperated.</p><p>"At least I trust Adrien knows nothing of the miraculous" Her gaze resembled that of an eagle.</p><p>"No more than anyone. Heroes have become very popular and Adrien has developed admiration for them, even voicing Cat Noir in an animated film. ”Emilie's gaze deepened while Gabriel spoke fondly of their son. “Of course, this is just because he don't know anything ... school and his activities keep him busy and distracted to notice.”</p><p>Too late, he knew he was wrong again.</p><p>"School?" Have you let him go to school? Oh, don't tell me, it sure was Nathalie who suggested it to you, right? Do any of you three have any respect for me? Do you really want me back? Why doesn't it seem like it, you do nothing but betray me.”</p><p>And Gabriel couldn't take it anymore.</p><p>He rose to his feet and became his scathing equal, but picking up Duusu first.</p><p>"I won't allow you to talk about us that way. I followed you in your desires, I did everything I could and more to help you and please you. Nathalie did you a thousand favors juggling her mentorship with Adrien and helping me with the brand, even though you knew how uncomfortable she felt staying at the mansion. I was with you in your illness, I begged you to stop until we will repair the miraculous and hold your hand while you died… you fell asleep… whatever happened to you. I have become a criminal for you! And you doubt about us!?"</p><p><br/>
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</p><p>The minutes passed looking into each other's eyes with a fury they had never experienced before.</p><p>Then, Emilie's gaze softened and she crouched down to be level with Duusu.</p><p>"Can you confirm that ...?" She didn't need to finish the sentence. The kwami used the accumulated energy to whisper something in her ear that Gabriel couldn’t hear, more concerned with the kwami and how horrible that reunion had been. Emilie had been a woman of character inclined to the drama, but she had never reached such a level.</p><p>Or had he forgotten?</p><p>"Okay." Her firm voice took him by surprise and he found himself nervous, clasping his hands behind his back to find strength in his usual firm posture. Time passed again without both communicating with something other than the gaze.</p><p>Then Emilie smiled sweetly.</p><p>"Will you forgive me?"</p><p>"I think I could never not do it." He confessed ruefully.</p><p>“You will remember me?”</p><p>"I think no one in the world will be able to forget you permanently" He replied with a slight smile.</p><p>"Do you swear to me that you will take care of her like you couldn't do with me?"</p><p>“WAIT!” Oizys interrupted the scene with a glint in her eyes that hid the mystery of the entire universe. “If you are going to do something so serious, this is not the place for it. Join me, there are rules to follow that can benefit you ... and I do not trust your previous promise.”</p><p>Offended in all his pride, Gabriel grunted and was within a second of answering him. Only Emilie's hand on his shoulder, now as unfamiliar as a ghost, guided him to shut up and deflected his biting soon to keep Duusu protected.</p><p>🦋</p><p>The slender and toned woman shone with her own light. Literally. The rainbow glittered on the wings that sprouted from her back, illuminating her tan complexion, dark hair, and light blue himation. In her hands she held an empty black and red plate that he couldn’t decipher. Even without being a scholar in the matter, he could recognize Iris.</p><p>It was hard to doubt that she didn't belong there, but she seemed so comfortable that he could be wrong. At this point, he couldn't say for sure more than a few things, like Nathalie was getting further and further away.</p><p>Oizys led the two mortals to the goddess and positioned herself beside her.</p><p>The tense, professional atmosphere was familiar.</p><p>"Gabriel Agreste, do you swear by the Styx that you will keep your end of the bargain and make the world remember my name for helping you?"</p><p>He sought the gaze of Emilie, more knowledgeable than he in that ritual, and accepted her training feeling the sharp gazes on him.</p><p>Iris crouched on the shore of Styx, filled the plate, and poured it over Gabriel. The water didn't get him wet, but it filled his body with pain for a brief moment.</p><p>"So it has been promised in the holy waters of Styx. If you break your promise, punishment awaits you.”</p><p>It seemed to be a recurring threat.</p><p>"Do you swear that you will protect and care for Nathalie Sancour?"</p><p>Iris looked at Oizys strangely, but said nothing about it; Gabriel spoke earlier with his hand on his chest.</p><p>"I swear by the Styx I will save, care for and love Nathalie under any circumstances."</p><p>Iris poured the water over him again, and the pain increased her strength and resolve.</p><p>"Time to go to the Phlegethon."</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. THE FALL  –Part 2. THE SCORING FLEGETON</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nathalie's punishment begins with jumping into a river of fire</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You would think that being a ghost would save you from suffering most of the physical ills that haunted you in life. Well, that was another false belief to cross off the list.</p><p>Her skin started to heat up in a very literal sense. The proximity of the Phlegethon manifested itself with a rise in temperature that it didn’t even resemble the heat waves caused by climate change; and even so, not all the drowsiness of the vapor could addrement her. She had endured so much in her professional life that it had served as training for any situation.</p><p>She only felt an incipient inner bustle when red began to stain the environment and a river of fire gave her a terrifying welcome.</p><p>This was going to be worse than she imagined.</p><p>🦋</p><p> </p><p>Gabriel was running faster than ever with the shortcut Oizys showed him. He was already glimpsing the red waters when Emilie stopped them, but before he could complain, his now ex-wife pointed out that his terrible state wasn’t the most appropriate to make a truly emotional reunion. As impossible as it sounded, the last thing Gabriel cared about wasn’t looking flawless, but he didn't reject the sudden jacket Emilie offered him, or her hair touch-ups.</p><p>However, it was not complete.</p><p>"Oizys… do you mind if…?" Reluctantly, she handed him the striped scarf back and felt more complete than ever.</p><p>Now nothing could go wrong.</p><p>🦚</p><p>A tear with each step that wrinkled her face in an angry scowl. She didn’t mind holding back and didn't feel more humiliated, but ... liberated. One last breath. She could almost feel the fire on her skin from the cliff. One step, only one step left ...</p><p>"NATHALIE, NO!"</p><p>Her heart skipped a beat. This was the only nightmare she couldn't face, her only vulnerability ...</p><p>And it broke.</p><p>Before long she fell to the ground. She staggered with the pain of allowing herself to imagine, for a moment, that Gabriel would come to rescue her as if she were worth all that Herculean nightmare.</p><p>And the worst thing is that she understood that it was the least she deserved.</p><p>Broken in tears, she looked at her destiny and prepared to step into the abyss ... until a force made her draw back and cover her in a familiar hug.</p><p>“I thought torture started after jumping…”</p><p>“There is no greater torture than being without you."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Will this have a sequel because the word limit prevented me from finishing it the way I wanted? Yes</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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